NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – December 15, 2023
Canada’s HATRED REIGNS Prepares And Otherworldly Assault With “Ushered By Charon”
New Album “Awaken The Ancients” Out Now!
L-R – Jeff Calder – Guitars, Adam Semler – Bass & Vocals, Neil Grandy – Drums, Mitchi Dimitriadis – Vocals
Ottawa, Canada’s Hatred Reigns is once again shaking the death metal world, this time with “Awaken The Ancients”, a concept album that gives nods to classical literature and death metal titans that was released on December 1st, 2023. Taking modern metal into a new realm of technical riffs, abrasive gutturals, and chest-shaking blast beats, Hatred Reigns presents diverse musical influences in a deadly package that will appeal to a wide variety of headbangers. The band shares the lyrical theme behind the latest video for their single “Ushered By Charon”:
“Awakening to a surreal reality, the protagonist finds themselves in a desolate wasteland at the water’s edge. Surrounding them are countless lost souls, adrift and purposeless. A vessel emerges on the horizon, guided by a disheveled figure at its helm—Charon, the Ferrier of souls. “Awaken The Ancients” is designed to be a complete listening experience, guiding the audience from Realm I: Affliction through the treacherous Realm II: Affirmation.”
Watch the video for “Ushered By Charon” via its premiere on ThCirclePit – https://youtu.be/_Q1GcPMhPaI
The singles on this album serve as bookends, paying homage to the musician’s favourite bands while incorporating elements from songs in the middle of the album that resonated with them, offering a visually appealing representation of their music. The creation of the album was a collaborative effort, with guitarist Jeff Calder conceiving the songs and the band members infusing their own ideas into the final compositions. Some elements evolved over various arrangements, while others came together organically and swiftly with minimal adjustments.
Hatred Reigns intends to assault listeners’ senses with a barrage of diverse soundscapes, creating an expansive and emotionally charged journey across the realms they explore in their epic voyage to Necropia. They are best suited for fans of Behemoth, Cryptopsy, and Suffocation.
“Awaken The Ancients” was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Hatred Reigns vocalist Mitchi Dimitriadis, with album art designed by Pedro “Lordigan” Sena. The album is available at the following links:
Digital – https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/hatredreigns/awaken-the-ancients
Bandcamp – https://hatredreigns.bandcamp.com
Previous Videos:
“Departing Archeron” – https://youtu.be/UkHuDhTsTWA
“Awaken The Ancients” – https://youtu.be/e6UZwj9YumA
Track Listing:
1. Awaken The Ancients (5:20)
2. Pain Leads To Nothingness (3:16)
3. To Depths Unknown (2:40)
4. Obsolarium (2:36)
5. Ushered By Charon (5:23)
6. Planes Divide (3:47)
7. Absentia (4:58)
8. Departing Acheron (3:43)
Album Length: 31:20
Album and Live Lineup:
Mitchi Dimitriadis – Vocals
Jeff Calder – Guitars
Neil Grandy – Drums
Adam Semler – Bass & Vocals
More info: Facebook.com/hatredreignsband | Instagram.com/hatredreigns
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“Hatred Reigns’ Awaken the Ancients is Brutality in Sound and Theme… For those of you who can’t get enough of their brutal technical death metal thematically based on What Dreams May Come, Dante’s Inferno, Milton’s Paradise Lost, and love wallowing in the murky anguish of life’s darkness, take an audio gander at the stream of the album.” – Decibel Magazine
“this is a slab of high density, very technical death metal that fans will love” – Real Gone Rocks
“Hatred Reigns’ core death metal is sturdy, with bass guitar leads and overactive blast beats giving a technical spark to the album.” – Heavy Music HQ
“Hatred Reigns play to their strengths on this album opener (Awaken The Ancients), delivering speed and fury, but impressive agility as well as aggression. They unleash madness in the viciously sizzling and skittering riffage and ruthlessness in the bone-smashing hammer blows that segment the frenzies, and the monstrous guttural growls expel the words in barks that are almost as fast as the backing instrumentation. But the band also switch things up, slowing the tempo and injecting weirdly swirling arpeggios and then hitting the accelerator to bring forth an even more demented and delirious escapade, this time fronted by crazed screams and screeches as well as gritty growls, and propelled to further heights of lunacy by a fret-melter of a solo and bursts of maniacal drum battery. When the band decelerate again, the chords elevate it into an otherworldly realm, both menacing and haunting, and the band also layer in a little bass solo, a few humongous bass drops, and a hulking, lurching stomp. But of course they go back into the fast lane for one last burst of high-adrenaline barbarity as the song surges to the end.” – No Clean Singing
“‘Departing Archeon’, grabs me where I didn’t expect (You can see the video for this at the bottom of this page). This time the vocal and lyrics are instantly engaging… accessible and menacing ‘Welcome… We’ve been waiting for You…’ which somehow made me smile from ear to ear. And just wait for that main riff – it’s f**king perfection. Simple, brutal and so utterly worthy of a headbang. Looking over the release notes they compare their release to ‘Origin’, Suffocation, and Hideous Divinity, but I’m getting vibes of classic Thrash and Death Metal. Think early Sepultura, Gorefest and Carcass, especially with that DIY ethos those thrown in too. It enables them to keep their influences close to their heart and do exactly what they want to. Overall, it took me a few listens to the album to appreciate how good it is. It’s a complex album that doesn’t hide behind overly technical playing … it knows how to keep the riffs simple, crunchy and heavy… Incredible stuff.” – Music Trespass
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